St. Edward Catholic Church in Starke, Florida, is the next stop along the Road of Faith. We arrived in the area on Saturday afternoon, set-up and then went to St. Augustine to spend the evening with friends. St. Edward Catholic Church was then a surprise gift from God for Mass. The surprise came in the form of a Polish priest, the pastor of St. Edward, Father Andrzej Mitera. Father Andy became pastor in July, 2024. He is originally from Poland. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1994. His homily was outstanding and gave Connie and I a lot to think and talk of. After Mass, Father greeted us and I asked him to bless my crucifix. I told him it is a relic of my patroness, St. Faustina, and his face lit up. He replied, “aww a little Polish girl.” He was thrilled when he had heard of our prior visit to Poland. Very good, reverent priest who gets it. You can tell by how he gives his homily and handles try Eucharist. Father was very deliberate through Communion, taking his time distributing the Lord to each (mostly) kneeling communicant.
This is a very small and financially strapped Catholic Church in north central Florida. It would be great if those walking The Road of Faith could support this church (441 North Temple Avenue, Starke, Florida, 32091).
I’m thinking we will be back to St. Edward. we certainly will be taking part in some of their upcoming events around the Jubilee year.
